With assembly elections round the corner, the streets of Delhi have been bombarded with posters and billboards of political parties.

But the BJP has realised that election issues are getting lost as party workers and even senior leaders are using these billboards to publicise themselves by congratulating party leaders or wishing people on festivals.

Sources said that BJP’s Delhi in-charge, Nitin Gadkari, has asked all BJP workers to ensure that such posters and billboards are based on issues rather than on individuals.

“Recently Gadkariji, while addressing a rally of BJP workers, had raised this matter and said that the posters should highlight issues as people are able to relate to them. They are not interested in such posters or billboards of a worker congratulating a senior leader because it doesn’t affect them in any manner. Gadkariji insisted that this practice be stopped and pictures of political leaders should be used to highlight issues,” said a senior BJP leader.

It is not uncommon to find billboards in colonies containing photographs of district-level workers wishing people on various festivals.

“Gadkariji had asked the BJP workers to raise issues such as corruption, price rise, hike in electricity charges, poor condition of unauthorised colonies through such posters,” added another leader.

At a number of places in east Delhi, party workers have already started removing such posters and replacing them with those highlighting poll issues. “There is no harm in publicising a leader or the party worker but that should be secondary to the issue that they want to highlight so that there is a connect with the masses,” said a senior leader.